Carrot Tart Speaks

Monday, March 16, 2015

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk can be fun with a friend while you are talking about diet apps and how far it is between cheat days. My friend Paula and I were talking about how almondmilk can be good for your bones so I used skeleton glasses. With only 30 calories per one cup serving and no added sweeteners the sipping is easy.

The shelf life far surpasses that of dairy products too if you live in a household that does not consume a lot of milk and they have shelf stable products you can keep in your pantry as a backup. I think it would be great for vacations too!

What I do is try to balance my diet and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk is a tasty way to do that . It goes great in anything you normally add dairy milk to like cereal or coffee. My husband likes to use it with his protein mix.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Madonna's thirteenth studio album does not disappoint in variety or length. There are 19 songs and my version lasts one hour and fourteen minutes. Admittedly I am more of an early Madonna fan so I was surprised by the number of ballads as compared to danceable music. She still can be raunchy and shocking however there is a lot of sweetness and vulnerability revealed.

The album cover made more sense to me after listening to the songs and I took notes while I first played it. So since I was expecting to be dancing it was unexpected that one of my favorites was a ballad called "Wash All Over Me" which I noted was a tricky little ballad - strong words sung sweetly. Like the cover there are interesting twists.
"Messiah" impressed me musically ~ very dreamy ~ starts with just the piano, then some strings, then some percussion until it is all melded together along with the lyrics. Another good one, "Ghosttown", is a spooky love song ~ very hopeful ~ and I swear I heard an old time organ which totally added to the effect.
Ahh but back to the dancing . I think the funnest and maybe the naughtiest song is "Holy Water" and I can not wait to dance at a club to it. I try not to cuss on my blog so you will just have to give it a listen because the best line contains swearing. Funny swearing. Fun beat.
A few of the tunes seem to be written to go along side a video like the collaboration with Mike Tyson & Chance the Rapper called "Iconic" . I am curious to see the video.
Prior to receiving the album I got a sneak peek at the video "Living For Love" and it reminds me of what Steven Tyler of Aerosmith said when video was new - about how it will make you perceive a song differently. Try it yourself - watch this video:

Now just listen to the song and not watch. Did you have a different opinion of the song when you just listened?

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Berry good timing on my new package of Emergen-C from Smiley 360. I had just gotten back from a doctor's visit at Emory Atlanta and had been taking public transportation on a dark and drizzly cold day when my shiny package was awaiting me - full of goodness and a variety of Vitamin C choices. I was immediately drawn to the the Berry Medley Warmers with 1,000 mg of Vitamin C, 1,000 IU of Vitamin D, B Vitamins & Zinc. The Drink it Hot and Immune + statements on the label were well suited for someone like me who had been to a twenty story medical building on mass transit. I tore off my coat, tore open the package, prepared my treat and The Berry Medley Warmer tasted delicious and I felt a lot more cheerful, warm and energized.

Not to be sneezed at are the flavored fizzy drink mixes like Super Orange, Raspberry and Strawberry- Kiwi to name a few flavors. These darling supplements contain electrolytes as well as B vitamins, Vitamin C and Proprietary Complex Antioxidants. It is fun whipping up a fizzy drink in seconds that is good for you. Doing a little extra for my husband's health is nice too.

I visited the website and there are a lot more choices too such as Emergen-C Kidz flavors and specialty blends with targeted nutrients to support specific health needs such as Joint Health which contains Glucosamine Hydrochloride and Chondroitin Sulfate. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis so I am really interested in this one.

When you purchase Emergen-C Kidz they donate 25 cents for each box sold to Vitamin Angels. There are also fun recipes and you can get a free sample!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Ozeri Deluxe Milk Frother and Pitcher in Stainless Steel was a fun item to review! I adore shiny things and when I was a kid we had malts a lot and made a big mess stirring really hard with a spoon. Since this brought up childhood memories I decided I would take it over to Mom's and give it a spin. We had a lot of fun using it to make some malteds and that gave me a chance to try it with more than one kind of milk as she uses nonfat and I generally use 2 % . We found that using the stainless steel pitcher as opposed to a glass makes it super frothy super fast. Of course trying something new with Mom was a blast too.

If you would like to purchase or check out the Ozeri Deluxe Milk Frother and Pitcher here is the *Amazon* link.

I dream of making my own barista style beverages one day with the fancy hearts floating delicately on top. Does any one know how to do that?

Some other things I plan to try are eggs for crepes or quiches and whipping some cream. Hmm may just be great for everyday scrambled eggs. You want to manually clean the whisk, avoid harsh chemicals and gently towel dry.

I received the Ozeri Deluxe Milk Frother and Pitcher in Stainless Steel complimentary from Ozeri for testing purposes ~ all opinions are my own.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

So many fun new products to try and what a mix! This is my first VoxBox and it has been a lot of fun trying everything. I was very pleased with most of the products and they each had their surprises.

One of my favorites was the EcoTools Sleek & Shine Finisher hair brush which is great for fighting frizz and is crafted with ecology in mind - repurposed aluminum, bamboo handle, cruelty-free bristles and recycled and recyclable paper packaging. I loved it before I learned about how green it was! The website has lots of fabulous smart items too so I signed up. They have how - to's that are pretty fabulous also. ecotools.com .
Guess I will stick with the beauty theme and rave about the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in Black. Love this stuff ! So smooth going on and it really lasts and they have lots of fun colors - I want to try Nude next especially since when I hit the where to buy button on the site ( Rimmel ) I saw how reasonably priced it was. Now I can play with all the colors in the box. This brings me to a surprise - the Rimmel Gentle Eye MakeUp Remover does not remove the Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner. It did fine on removing a non waterproof brand when I tested it on my hand.

One product was just not right for me and that was the Boots No 7 Protect and Perfect anti-aging serum. Although the sample was generous enough to try it again I am not going to. It made me all ruddy and splotchy and I do not know if it reacted with my skin or the cleanser I used - I just know its not for me. It is the rave in the UK according to what I have seen though. I have a friend who lives there and she has glowingly mentioned the company before talking about their other products . usboots
Last of the beauty items was NYC Expert Last Lip Color in Sugar Plum and it is a very pretty shade that does not taste like lipstick. Sadly I am not good with lipstick so I know how it tastes . Happily they have all kinds of fun lip products and the prices are great . Also I find the company lovable, enthusiastic and they made me feel valued. NYC COLOR and if you click the link you'll see what I mean about great prices.

On to the food - always fun to get treats. The first thing I tore into was the Fruit Vines Bites in Cherry and was pleased at how juicy and sweet they are. Soft too! Decidedly yummy. They are made by the same company that makes Red Vines licorice.

The Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane Tea was a nice treat . I drink a bit of tea and this one was delicate compared to my usual ginger or black tea. It is also decaffeinated but was fun to try. The variety of Celestial Teas is pretty astounding though. Celestial Seasonings

One of the funnest things to review was the McCormick Gourmet Thyme as it made me feel a little creative and inspired . Added bonus was when I went to the site I found out about FlavorPrint which helps you discover new dishes based on your likes. Kind of like the Pandora for food.
Before I discovered FlavorPrint I made up a little dish I call Egg Daisy Potato Thyme.

Whew - lots of ground covered for one blog post. Many thanks to Influenster and all the companies that provided the products for testing!
If you would like to join Influenster just click and perhaps you can join in on a VoxBox adventure :D Feel free to ask me questions about +Influenster too . I am fairly new to working with them however so far so great!

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Snacking should be easy and that is why I like using Blue Diamond Almonds. Especially now that they have such a great squad of novel flavors and some are truly exciting like the Wasabi & Soy Sauce version from their Bold line - these Blue Diamond Almonds will wake up your mouth. Seriously -KAPOW. I decided to use them to wake up some fish. The side dish is couscous and spinach -hey I bet a few almonds would have livened that up too!

One thing I really love about a game feast is there are no holds barred and I am the referee so anything goes. My goal was a variety of things that went well with almonds and I was provided with two distinct flavors ~ the aforementioned Wasabi & Soy Sauce and also Blue Diamond Smokehouse. (Thanks Blue Diamond Almonds!)
Something about working with almonds makes me think healthy and I thought strawberries would go well with almonds and I was so right.
A little game changing fact - did you know almonds can help with cholesterol issues as they help raise HDL (healthy) and lower LDL (lousy) levels?

One of my favorite snacks anytime is cake - especially chocolate cake - so I decided to spike a few pieces with Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds. I watched a cooking show and learned that mixing sweet and savory is very trendy. It is also very tasty and I had fun making little hearts with the almonds.

Of course they are great right out of the can too :D - Do you have any fun almond ideas?

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Freshly ground pepper is strangely addicting and I now find myself adding it to everything I cook. I have owned those store bought ready to grind pepper shakers and they just did not have the same appeal. Maybe the peppercorns were stale or inferior in the ready to grind however I just bought store brand peppercorns for this little venture and they are delicious. Or perhaps it is because of the ceramic grinder that is adjustable from coarse to fine that releases the true essence of the peppercorn.

BEFORE

AFTER

The Ozeri Salt and Pepper Duo is sleek, contemporary and compact. The stainless steel acrylic casing is durable and easy to clean - just wipe with a damp cloth.

YUM

Here is a picture of some rice with freshly ground pepper from the Ozeri Fresko Salt and Pepper Duo vs pre ground store pepper ~ notice how clean and fresh it looks and not dusty? I put sea salt in the other compartment however since I do not add salt to hardly anything I am considering trying another herb/spice in there. What do you think would be a good choice?

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Crazy for curry? I have been craving something with that special curry kick and Innovasion's Red Curry Sauce with Chicken absolutely fit the bill. This is one of Innovasian's stellar collection of fully cooked , frozen Asian meals. What I especially love is that they have no MSG. Another thing is that they are very easy to prepare. You can also purchase Innovasion Sticky White Rice that microwaves in five minutes.

I thought I would share about this healthy meal option during the busy winter months because it is a fast and delicious way to eat right. You may need a spoonstick to get every last bit :D

I received coupons from #Klout and #Innovasian to try this delicious line and was not obligated to review. All opinions are my own